Reports Warn of Afghanistan Collapse in 2014

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The Red Cross and a think tank warned on Monday that steps need to be taken now to keep Afghanistan from sliding "toward state collapse" after the U.S. and its NATO allies withdraw their forces in 2014.

According to a report by the International Crisis Group, Afghanistan could easily erupt into a civil war, especially if the national army and police are unprepared for violence.

Candace Rondeaux with the International Crisis Group, a think tank, said that the problem is that the country remains "plagued by factionalism and corruption."

In a report called "The Long Hard Road to the 2014 Transition," the International Crisis Group says that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's administration has to begin ensuring that the election two years from now is as free from fraud as possible, also arguing that "high levels of violence across the country before and on the day of the polls are likely to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands more would-be voters."

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross issued a statement that it is becoming more difficult for ordinary Afghans to receive health care because of the rise of local armed groups that have proliferated in regions throughout the country.